79' Ford F150 4x4 Project

Ive posted a few items, gathering info and such. I finally got my project truck, Ive always loved the 77-79 body style. I want to get ir running for now so i have a truck to use. I will be moving next year and will have a barn / large garage.

FOR NOW i just want her running and after sitting in a corn field for 2 and half years all i did was rebuild the carb (The inj. pump was bad) and it started up and it runs pretty well. No leaks, no knocks... Nice and smooth.

I went to take it for a test drive, got it up to 70 nice and easy and drove about 15 miles on country roads and on a highway. Went to start it yesterday and its starving and dying instantly... found the choke isnt working. The housing for the manual choke (plastic) bolts to the upper part of the carb and 2 of the 3 holes are "gone" and i cant find anything on the internet other than replace the carb.

I have a 400m i rebuillt 5 years ago (still sitting in the heated garage i rebuilt it in) and its got some performance parts in it. I wont be able to rebuild the 300 I6 thats in it til i move.

So 2 Options:
A) Would it be worth while to keep messing with the 300 I6? Ive only drove it 15-17 miles, i dont know what else it may have until i drive it more and i could sell the 400m.

B) Swap in the 400m and hold onto the 300 I6 until i can put it together and restore it the right way.

whY not just leave it. My choke is broke off to, but after a few start/stall, it will idle. Seems like extra work for a truck that isnt nesscessarily worth the 'new' 400. Im also biased, I like the 300 simply because its different. But thats my opinion. Give some pictures too though

If your main problem is the choke not working and you like the 300 I-6 overall, I wouldn't ditch the whole thing just for that. Are the mounting holes on the carb just stripped out? Could you re-tap a screw size up? Even if it's worse than that, a manual choke cable shouldn't be too hard to install as a temporary fix until you can afford to repair/replace the carb.

Ive posted a few items, gathering info and such. I finally got my project truck, Ive always loved the 77-79 body style. I want to get ir running for now so i have a truck to use. I will be moving next year and will have a barn / large garage. FOR NOW i just want her running and after sitting in a corn field for 2 and half years all i did was rebuild the carb (The inj. pump was bad) and it started up and it runs pretty well. No leaks, no knocks... Nice and smooth. I went to take it for a test drive, got it up to 70 nice and easy and drove about 15 miles on country roads and on a highway. Went to start it yesterday and its starving and dying instantly... found the choke isnt working. The housing for the manual choke (plastic) bolts to the upper part of the carb and 2 of the 3 holes are "gone" and i cant find anything on the internet other than replace the carb. I have a 400m i rebuillt 5 years ago (still sitting in the heated garage i rebuilt it in) and its got some performance parts in it. I wont be able to rebuild the 300 I6 thats in it til i move. So 2 Options: A) Would it be worth while to keep messing with the 300 I6? Ive only drove it 15-17 miles, i dont know what else it may have until i drive it more and i could sell the 400m. B) Swap in the 400m and hold onto the 300 I6 until i can put it together and restore it the right way. Ive allready fixed the fuel issue, rewired the entire brake light system, and , and im replacing the rear brake line (Rusted through... shocker...) Just want some input i guess. I know the 300 I6 is a very strong lasting engine, and the 400 is one of the worst engines Ford made... but it would be nice to have a v8.

Man, you got to give the 400 a little more credit... It's not a bad engine... My dad preferred a i6, until he got in my truck and felt the 351m. I think every engine ford made is pretty good. Only default the aftermarket is as open with the 351m/400. But my suggestion is roll with the 400. And do the inline 6 right and fixed it the way you want it... Just my 2 cents...

"Tabs broken off the carb, maysel swap the engine!" Doesn't make much sense to me.

Stick with the 300 if there is nothing wrong with it, to swap the 400 in you would need engine towers for a 351M, and a transmission if your auto, or bell housing for the 400 if you have a standard. Not to mention exhaust, fuel lines, radiator etc, etc.

If you're stuck on swapping engines, Id go 351W before I put a 400 in. Huge aftermarket for them, can be had with a roller cam, better overall design, and it will bolt up to your current trans to boot

Sorry to clarify, its not just the choke that worries me, its sat for a very long time. The guy told me 2 and half years. but he also said "Ive had her for many years, and never drove it, last time was for fire wood 2 years ago". So being that ive only driven it for less than 20 miles there could be a lot more, i wont know until i drive it some and loosen it up.

As for the choke, the holes arent just stripped, there torn threw and only 1 will seat. Im just affraid to put a new carb and start finding other problems when i could just put the 400 in it with adjusted motor mounts.

I have owned 2 77's, a 78', and 2 other 79's (from f150 - 350) and every one that had the 400 had major over heating issues and died, the last one as soon as it started over heating bad i just parked it and took the motor out. I had a lot of machining done and had it cleaned, baked, ect ect ect and i put it together with "better" parts. (Idk bout the overheating tho).

Im loving the input, sounds like i should stick with the 300 I6, but no one will buy the 400 and between machining and parts i spent close to $2000, i might get $600 for it if im lucky.

whY not just leave it. My choke is broke off to, but after a few start/stall, it will idle. Seems like extra work for a truck that isnt nesscessarily worth the 'new' 400. Im also biased, I like the 300 simply because its different. But thats my opinion. Give some pictures too though

Does the truck have a manual or automatic transmission? If the latter, I'd be more worried about that having sat for 2 years than the engine (clutch seals could be dry-rotted, sealing surfaces could be pitted with rust, etc.). If you've already rebuilt the carb and it's not leaking all over the place, and it ran well for those 20 miles, the engine is probably in decent shape. Brake hoses and the like could probably use a look though...

I am having the hardest time finding a manual choke 1bbl carb for it. Mine is a YFA i believe and i found one on ebay (that needs rebuilt) for $25, but its just a YF? Does that matter? Its a Carter 1bbl with manual choke?

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